1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing a phonebook using an image in a portable terminal. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for recording and storing contact information in metadata of an image and providing a linkage function such as a phonebook using the image having the contact information recorded therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional portable terminals provide phonebooks configured to store phone numbers and phone number related information (e.g., names, snapshots, electronic mail (e-mail) address, other phone numbers, addresses, anniversaries, groups, etc.) and implement linkage functions by the phone numbers through a search. The phonebooks are provided based on text, allow a user to manage a list of callers' phone numbers (or contacts) by group, and provide linkage functions such as a call, a Short Message Service (SMS), a Multimedia Message Service (MMS), a facsimile, and e-mail.
In the conventional art, phonebooks can store and manage a phone number and a variety of phone number related information, for example, information such as a name, a snapshot, an e-mail address, other phone numbers, an address, an anniversary, and a group as illustrated in FIG. 1. Also, the phonebook can store and manage a minimal amount of information such as the phone number and the name inputted by a user. That is, there may be several and up to a dozen information fields in a phonebook, but the phonebook has a drawback in that memory is easily wasted due to information fields that are included but not frequently used as a result of the information being selectively inputted and stored by the user.
Also, the phonebook has an inconvenience in that a user has to manually indicate and separate a group of callers each corresponding to phone numbers one by one in order to manage a list of phone numbers on a per-group basis. Further, the phonebook has a disadvantage in that, when a user attempts an action for a group, it is difficult to intuitively identify who is a member of the group because the phonebook is provided based on text.